Do you think a mongrel is the best dog to have around when you have children?

Question

I agree it's the way owners rear their dogs, i was brought up with alsations, the only thing the dogs were guilty of was nearly licking us to death.

Answer 1

It's not the dog but the owner.
If you're a responsible and experienced dog owner, and will have the dog from a puppy, it doesn't matter what breed it is.

If for any reason, you can't completely trust it, get rid of it, or at least make sure it's small enough not to be able to inflict any serious harm on your kids.

Answer 2

This is a question without an answer.
I'm partial to mutts and think that generally they have good dispositions. However- I have also seen mongrels with terrible dispositions that have no business being around children.

I can say the exact same thing about pure bred dogs. Some are great, some are not. Even within individuals of a breed. Golden Retrievers are usually great family dogs, but I have seen individuals that would not be appropriate in a home with children.

This needs of be based on the personality of the individual animal, not on it's pedigree or lack of. Most shelter/ rescue organization personnel can help you pick the best fit for a home with children... and so can most breeders.

Good luck!

Answer 3

I agree that its the way the animal is brought up on whether it is ok to be around kids. Like someone else has said, mongrels can have the good parts of its heritage but it can also have the bad parts.

I've got 2 labs and they would be inclined to lick you to death than turn on you BUT they have both been brought up from puppies to "be gentle" and if they start to get a bit rough when playing, they are stopped, calmed and rewarded for being gentle.

Any dog can be nasty and any dog can be soft - it boils down to the owner!

Answer 4

I think you mean a crossbred dog I have known some mongrels in my life but they were humans not dogs. I have always been around pure bred dogs from when I was little and have never had any trouble with any of them but off course darling children can be so cruel at any time so parents should never leave them alone. The dog pounds here in Australia do their best to sell the right dogs to familys and if its for little children an adult dog would be better medium size. Good luck

Answer 5

It would depend on what is in it. I would rather have my Newfies than a dog that I do not know the parentage of. What if it is has pit in it?? Or another breed that can have aggression problems, or at the very least a breed with a high prey drive that may be too excited by running screaming children.
I prefer to know that temperment I am expecting so I know what I am dealing with.

Answer 6

Yes; in that mongrels tend to have better temperaments than pedigree dogs.But let's also have a small dog (not so strong), a dog which is soft mouthed (the offspring of hunting dogs like red setters) and from well adjusted dog parents or from dog breeds which are known to be less aggressive towards humans. A lot of how the dog behaves towards children then will be down to training too

Answer 7

I honestly think that most dogs are ok to have around children. It depends entirely on how the children are around the dog.If they are allowed to pull it about, disturb it when it is a puppy and needs to sleep, or won't let it eat in peace and if the children rush about and scream, then the dog may become fearful. However if you are a sensible parent and the children are told that under no circumstances must they disturb the dog when it wants to rest or sleep and they are taught that a dog is a living creature and not a toy, it should be fine. My now 33 year old son still remembers the time when he was 3 years old and we had a toy poodle. The dog had been given a bone and had taken himself off to his bed to eat it. I told my son he was to leave the dog alone with his bone. 10 minutes later, my son came to me with a red ear, crying that the dog had bitten him. He got his bum smacked for not doing as he was told and for disturbing the dog.
Since my son grew up with an animal loving mother who was surrounded by dogs, it was in his own interest to learn to behave properly around dogs. When I did rescue some years later, not all were friendly family pets and him treating them as such could have resulted in him being bitten. Instilling some firm guidelines on how dogs should be treated will stand them in good stead, for their own safety and for the dog's wellbeing too.
My son loves dogs but isn't in a position to own one at present as he and his partner work full time and only rent a small flat, but the flat is full of plants, he has a large fish tank and is about to take delivery of 2 kittens. One day, he tells me he will have 2 dogs, his own home and some children and I am proud to know that all the animals will be cared for to as high a standard as I have here and his children will be taught to respect animals as I taught him.
HTH

Answer 8

I would trust a mongrel with a kind eye long before I would trust an overexcited, mindless purebred. Generally mongrels don't suffer from any of the inherited diseases that can make purebreds so hard to live with.

But no dog can be trusted 100% of the time, no matter what, with young children. Young children can be monsters to pets...pulling their ears, and sticking their fingers into eyes, stepping on toes. Generally it is the dog that needs to fear the child...but there is that 3 in 100 chance that your dog will decide not to take that behaviour any more and will snap back.

So if you love your dog, and if you love your kids, you won't leave them unsupervised together. Each one of them needs the safe haven of your presence to run to when they are feeling threatened.

Answer 9

I have a German Shepherd, he is great with all kids, best to get a puppy though, its the way they are brought up not the dog. Our dog has a brilliant personality. I would get a puppy from private sellers and not from kennels though, and try to see its parents. Hope this helps.

Answer 10

We have 2 mix breeds - lab/shepherd and rottie/shepherd mix- and they have been good with our young children. Not because they are mixed breeds but because a lot of time has been put into getting them socialised, obedienced training and daily walks. My children are supervised earlier on to make sure they know how to treat the dogs gently and to be pack leaders so that the dogs will respect them. Know your dog, read up on the breed traits it has and parent him accordingly. It is all about the owner.